Courage
by Miss Elixir
Summary: Lucy Heartfilia is a girl trapped by privilege and riches, under the watchful eye of Magnolia's elite trading "king". When she's saddled with a pink haired bodyguard with an affiliation for destruction, she finds that life will never be the same. And as she tries to figure out who she is, Lucy discovers that facing her problems might need a little bit of courage.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello there! I'm a little hesitant to post this up here...I'm a newbie to the world of fanfiction and this is my first story. The characters are not perfectly portrayed, which is a little disappointing, but I hope you enjoy it nevertheless. I have a few chapters written up, so I should be done editing (although really, I'm a terrible editor) them soon. In the meantime, please review, because I always love positive criticism and encouragement.**

**Oh, and just to throw this out there...disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail or its characters.**

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I sighed and shifted uneasily in my chair, trying to subtly adjust my dress so that I could sit somewhat comfortably. As a younger child, I dreamt of wearing these long, elegant dresses, where the skirts would swish around my ankles and the top would be studded out with brilliant sequins and jewels. But now, as I sat awkwardly in one of my many "beautiful" dresses, I just felt out of place.

I poked at my food before drawing my attention back to the conversation between my father and some rich merchant that was invited to dine with us. I stifled a yawn, trying to hide my boredom with my napkin. They were talking about trading and the market, occasionally dropping mocking statements about the lower merchants that sold poorly made products. But beneath the façade of festivity and openness, there was a layer of conniving coldness. I could see it in everyone's eyes.

Sneaking a glance at the one of the servants at the door, I saw that he was staring at me.

_Well_, I thought. _ Might as well have some fun while I'm here._

I flirtatiously winked at the servant boy, biting my lip before staring back down at my lap. Hey, what can I say…I may be uncomfortable, but I know that I look good. I looked back up and saw the servant look around nervously before rolling back his shoulders and glancing at everything but me. I pouted. He was no fun.

"Ahem" my father's voice interrupted my thoughts. I looked up to see my father's disapproving face glaring at me. His message was clear to me: stop being so childish. I smiled weakly and returned my gaze to my unfinished plate of food. The dinner was delicious, but as a lady of the Heartfilia household, I couldn't scarf it down like I wanted to. Actually there were a lot of things that I could and couldn't do. I had to eat sitting straight up. I had to leave some food on my plate, because, star's forbid, I'll look like a barbarian if I ate a whole plate of food. I had to participate in conversations about subjects that I had no interest in, with people who had no interest in me, except for my father's money. I had to dress and walk and live under the thumb of Jude Heartfilia, "king" of the trading market in Magnolia.

I smiled sweetly, before standing up and bowing slightly to our nameless guests and my father. "I'm afraid that I must retire for the night, my lords. I thank you for the lovely conversation and I await until the next time we meet."

I layered on a few more compliments before exiting the room, eyes rolling to the ceiling. I wanted fresh air. The servants barely had time to open the doors before I breezed through, barely giving a glance to the servant boy that I was toying with before. I heard the doors shut behind me and I started yanking the pins out of my hair, letting the blonde locks fall to my shoulders. When I almost rounded the corner, I heard the doors open with bang and my father's voice rang out.

"Miss Heartfilia."

Gasping, I tried to scramble my hair back into its tight bun before turning back to him. I failed miserably, but then again, the last time I really cared about my father's opinion was before … was before she died.

"I need to talk to you after dinner."

I didn't like the look that he was giving me.

"Yes" I said stiffly, before turning around and leaving. I really wanted to say, "You want to talk to me? Or do you want to lay down more rules on me, trapping me more to your mansion?" But I had learned quickly that saying my mind in front of my father was not an option, so I held my tongue.

I was seething by the time I reached my room. I practically yanked off the dress, leaving it on the ground to rot. I quickly changed more comfortable clothes: a blue, pleated skirt and a random shirt that matched it. Throwing on some long black socks and shoes, I ran to my balcony with my belt and keys, grinning back at my door. Someone was knocking impatiently at my door. Probably wanting me to go back and talk with my father.

_Eh, it can wait_. I thought, before scrambling down the vines to the ground. I started sprinting away, laughing at the frantic yells that I heard behind me. These past few nights were like these. I would escape somehow and run into town to visit … well I didn't know anybody in town really, other than my friend Levy, who was busy tonight. I would visit with whoever was there to visit. Sometimes it was taverns, other times it was a late night party. Anything with lots of noise and laughter.

I sped by the last few remaining tree and brushes, spying the front gate far ahead. Even though I've lived here all my life, I still can't believe how massive the Heartfilia property is. Running away takes a lot of effort!

I slammed into the fence, looking behind me to see if anyone was running after me. No one seemed to be trailing me. I searched the fence, finding the spot that I had hidden. There was part of the fence that was run down, but hidden from the path by foliage. It wasn't a huge gap or anything, but if I sucked in my breathe and tilted my hips a certain way, I could get through.

"Victory!" I whispered to myself after I squeezed through. I started to leisurely walk back to the road to town, looking up at the sky, drenched in the last lights of sunset. Soon the stars would peek out and I would be able to do a little bit of stargazing, my favorite nighttime activity. As I kicked a stone on the path, I saw a horse carriage come careening around the corner. Next thing I knew, the wheel of the carriage hit a rut in the road, causing the wheel to splinter and the carriage to crash to a standstill. The horses whinnied in confusion and the carriage tilted until it crash-landed on its side. I gasped and began to jog over to the fallen carriage.

"Hello?" I called out. "Hello, is everyone okay? Hello?"

"Oy, Ezra!" a guy's head popped out of the wreck. "Anybody ever tell you that you're a terrible driver?"

"Oy, Gray," the red head at the horses' reigns yelled back, rotating her arm to see if her shoulder was okay. "Anybody ever tell you to shut up?"

As I came closer to the crash, I began to recognize the red head, or Ezra as the black haired guy called her. She was affiliated with … actually I have no idea who she was affiliated with. But I remember seeing her face on the Heartfilia property before. Oh! She was the head of security here! She was recently hired after Harley, the old head, retired. He's currently taking a trip around Fiore with his wife, now that I think about it.

Gray kicked the door open and pulled himself out, jumping down to the ground and began to dust off his white jacket. He turned to face the upturned carriage, as if he was waiting for someone to come out.

"Miss Heartfilia?" Ezra asked hesitantly. We had met a few times earlier, but honestly, we didn't know each other that well.

"Lucy," I automatically corrected her.

Ezra squinted at me, as if she was trying to figure out why I was there. Gray glanced at me before loudly complaining about a crick in his neck, presumably caused by Ezra's wild driving.

Ignoring Gray, I asked Ezra, "Are you two okay?"

I walked over to the carriage, inspecting the busted wheel before turning back to face them.

"Yes, Miss Heartfilia," Ezra said, slightly bowing before turning to Gray. "We're _okay_, aren't we Gray?" I couldn't see her face, but I felt this dark cloud of ominous tension emitting from the red head. Gray froze in midsentence, sweat almost visibly rolling off his forehead. "Yeah," he choked out. "We're just fabulous."

"Liii…arrr" a voice croaked from the inside of the carriage. I yelped, jumping before turning to face…whatever made that noise. A hand shot out, gripping the edge, followed by a head of pink hair. A green-faced guy tried to pull himself up and out of the carriage, but failed midway, so he hung, half still inside the carriage, half out.

"Natsu's feeling sick again," a voice sang out. A blue cat with a green knapsack launched out from the depths before settling on Natsu's head. He patted Natsu's hair, saying, "Natsu, we're here. Time to get up!"

He jumped down, padded over to me and asked, "Who are you?"

"My name is Lucy Heart – " I cut myself off, before starting again. "My name is Lucy."

"Lucy" he said slowly, as if he was rolling around the name in his mouth. "My name is Happy!"

I squatted down, reached my hand out and pet Happy's head. He gingerly moved out of my hand's reach and said "Hey! You're messing my hair!"

"Ah, sorry," I said. What a weird cat.

"I didn't think that Mr. Heartfilia would let you out without bodyguards." Ezra said, pulling Natsu out of the wreckage and practically throwing him to the ground. He lay there in a heap, moaning. _Pathetic_, I thought as I watched him. I tried to ignore Ezra's comment, slowly inching farther from the carriage and closer to town.

"Ah!" she said, her eyes lighting up. "You came to meet us at the front gate! How nice of you!"

"No, uh, I" I waved my hands frantically.

Too late.

"I never thought that Mr. Heartfilia would be so nice," Ezra said, practically pushing me back towards the mansion, "and to think that he would send his daughter out to meet us. I will talk to the security team though. They really shouldn't have left you alone, especially during this time of evening. There are muggers everywhere."

I couldn't read if she was really being flippant, or if she figured out that I snuck out again. Ezra's strong grip on my hand pulled me back to the gate, the other hand beckoning the group to follow. "Let's go, we got a meeting to catch."

Gray grabbed the back of Natsu's black shirt, dragging him and following Erza and me. "Flamebrain," he muttered darkly, "making me drag you around." Natsu tried to make Gray let go of him, but resigned to being a lifeless sack of potatoes being dragged through the dirt.

Next thing I knew, I was standing back in the mansion's entryway, with the head of security, two random travelers and a talking cat.

This is exactly how I imagined my night would go.

Maybe if I leave them here now, I can sneak out and –

"Miss Scarlet, you're late" my father's voice interrupted my thoughts. He was briskly walking down the corridor, some papers in his hand. He looked at his watch and gruffly said, "I thought we were to meet at eight sharp. I hired you to protect and serve, not to hinder my work."

"I apologize," she bowed respectfully. "We ran into some trouble with the carriage."

"I will not tolerate any excuses. Do not be late again. Come."

He started up the staircase at a brisk clip, forcing us to jog up the stairs. Ezra quickly followed, her armor clicking as she followed him. Gray glanced at me before following Ezra. He kept tugging at the collar of his jacket, like he was itching to take it off. Natsu looked bored, but said quietly, "Happy, let's go". Happy said "Aye, sir!" which received a glare from my father. Then he sprouted some white wings and began to hover a few feet off the ground. My jaw almost hit the floor.

But it quickly snapped shut when my father reached the top floor. He turned to me and said, "Miss Heartfilia, I requested your presence a while ago."

"Yes sir" I said. When I didn't make a move to start up the stairs, he said, "Don't keep me waiting."

"Yes sir."

I trudged up the stairs, wondering what my father wanted from me. The last time I had been summoned by him was when he had shipped me off to boarding school after … My hands balled into a fist, willing the tears to not spring from my eyes.

By then my father was quite a ways down the hall, conversing with Ezra about security maintenance and procedures. Crime had been skyrocketing up these past few months, for an unknown reason. He wanted to make sure that the mansion was safe because, star's forbid, his wealth shouldn't be shared by some nameless thief. I know got a good look at Gray and Natsu. The former was walking a little ways behind Ezra, looking around. He wore black simple black pants and shoes, with his long white and gray coat. _What a boring fashion sense,_ I thought. _No colors, all monotone._ He seemed to be suspicious of everything, or maybe he was nervous being here. Not that that would have been surprising. No normal person is comfortable in a mansion with so little light and happiness.

Natsu, on the other hand, looked as relaxed as he could be. He strolled along, hands interlaced at the back of his head. His black waistcoat softly hit his white, knee length trousers. A white, scarf hung around his neck. Happy chatted animatedly next to him, albeit in hushed tones, so that he wouldn't irritate my father.

We arrived at my father's study, and stood around his desk. Natsu sat down on the ground, looking uninterested. Erza glared at him, but he ignored it, choosing to stare at some candles that were lit around the room. I might have been mistaken, but I think I heard his stomach growl.

"I have deemed it a necessity to start upgrading our security protocols," my father stated, eyes landing on me. "With all the vandalism and attacks lately, I can't afford any mistakes. I'll calling for further increases to security detail and other procedures to make sure that our mansion is secure. Especially with the merchants coming in next year for the World Expo, I need to make sure that everything goes according to plan."

"Security detail?" I interrupted my father. "What do you mean security detail?"

"Miss Heartfilia, I know all about your transgressions with the … townsfolk." He spat out the word like they were a pile of trash. "I simply cannot allow you to go philandering about, especially with our image on the line."

"Excuse me," I snapped furiously. "Philandering?! How dare you assume – "

His eyes flashed with irritation. "Do not interrupt me!" he thundered. Coughing a bit, he stood up and pointed at me. "Every night you sneak out, without guards. Do you think that I do not know what goes on in my house? You spend my money on filthy drinks and those despicable clothes. Next thing you know, I will have to shell out more time and money to some kidnappers who abducted you because of your vagrant actions. When did you become so impenitent? You do not deserve to carry the Heartfilia name!"

"Maybe I never wanted the Heartfilia name!" I yelled back. "Did you ever once think about what I wanted? Do you think that I want to be trapped in this hellhole? You're a monster! Maybe that's why Mom died! She couldn't take you!"

I suddenly slapped a hand over my mouth and a heavy silence fell in the office. These types of arguments weren't uncommon between us, but I never threw Mom's death into the picture. Once the words flew out my mouth, I felt that I had just tainted her name. Her memory wasn't supposed to be used with words of hatred and anger.

It was then that I finally remembered that we weren't alone. Embarrassed, I turned away from his desk and marched to the door.

"Miss Heartfilia."

Stars above, why couldn't he just say my name?

"We are not done talking."

My hand clenched the door handle, deciding to turn back to the conversation or to run away. I huffed, and turned, arms crossed. "Well you may not be done talking, but I am."

"Then you stand there and listen. You will be under a new security detail, with a new bodyguard. You will not complain. You will follow his orders, and you will be the lady that you were brought up to be."

I gritted my teeth together before deciding to break my rule of silence. "Who is he?"

My father's eyes slid to Ezra, who had stepped a few feet back from his desk, as if she was trying to blend in with the walls. She jumped to attention before pointed to the pink-haired visitor sitting on the floor.

"Him?!" I blurted out. "That pathetic idiot?"

"Hey!" Natsu said.

"Trust me," she said to my father. "He'll get the job done."

I scoffed and opened the office door. "Fine, whatever. Give me a babysitter. Do whatever the hell you want."

The door slammed behind me.

_My father thinks he can trap me in this stupid plan. Let's just see how long Natsu can last._

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**A little long, but thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello again! Oh man, I can't even tell you how excited I am to know that people are reading my little story (and enjoying it hopefully). And three reviews! I didn't think anybody would review! My thanks to you three, you definitely made my day. I was so charged with excitement that I wrote some more, even though I needed to get some sleep.**

**And just to let you all know, I'm squeezing in the last few trips before school starts again, so my uploading intervals might be a little wacky. But I promise you, even though I'll be away from the computer, I'll still be writing!**

**Anyways, enough of my useless chatter. You want to read the second chapter! Throwing in the disclaimer...Fairy Tail and it's characters don't belong to me (sadly). Enjoy!**

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A few seconds after I slammed my father's study door, it opened again and Natsu came out, Happy floating beside him.

"What?" I said, whirling around to face him. My emotions were still riled up from my argument, and I felt my eyes were on the verge of tears. I wanted to prove myself to be a strong and independent woman, one that doesn't break down and cry when things don't go her way.

"Whoa," Natsu said, holding up his hands in a sign of mock surrender. "Just trying to do my job here. Not that I want to be here anyways."

"Why don't you just leave? It's not like I really want you here either." I sniffed, subtly trying to wipe my eyes.

He frowned and mumbled, "Ezra would skin me alive."

"It's your fault that you're here," Happy pointed out to him, swooping back and forth in the air. "You destroyed half the town on that last mission you went on. You need to get some more Jewels to fix the damage you caused."

"Whatever," I waved, turning and starting to walk back to my room. "Go do…something."

Natsu marched behind me and struck up a conversation with Happy about food. It was hard for me to stew in my angry thoughts with the two loudly talking behind me, so as soon as I was at my room, I pointed down the long hallway. "Down five rooms, take the stairs all the way down to the bottom, take a right and a left at the second corridor."

"What?" Natsu said, clearly not listening to my instructions.

"The kitchen," I rolled my eyes. "Down five rooms, take the – "

Before I could finish, Natsu and Happy were going down the hall, asking each other what food they wanted to eat. I closed before turning back to my open window. A servant had apparently gone through my room, cleaning up the dress that I had previously thrown haphazardly on the ground. I threw myself on my bed, wriggling out of my boots flinging them angrily across the room.

My father. How could he assign another bodyguard to me? In the past, he's tried to assign bodyguards for my security, but I found a way to twist out of their protection, usually involving flashy distractions, which gave me enough time to run away. And if my father didn't fire them for losing me, I would just make their lives impossible so that they would quit. I may have been a conceited, rich girl, but it gave me freedom in the end.

I grinned at the ceiling before turning over to get some sleep. I'll just do the same with Natsu. I mean, come on. It's not like it was going to be hard to distract him.

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I gritted my teeth. Currently, I was slung over Natsu's shoulder as he walked back to the mansion's front entrance. He whistled cheerfully as I ranted loudly, pounding uselessly on his back. This was the fourth time I had tried to escape the mansion, but like the other three times, I was caught before I even got close to the fence surrounding the mansion.

The first time I told Natsu that the cook had a treat for him in the kitchen, hoping that the lure of food would be enough to distract him. After he left, I climbed out of my balcony to the ground via the vines that grew up the mansion's stonewalls. Strutting confidently in the direction of the fence, I laughed to myself, imagining Natsu getting fired. But I froze when I heard a _whump_, made from two feet landing in the grass beside me.

"Going somewhere?" he asked.

I knew that I couldn't go to town now that he was here.

"No," I sighed, turning to walk to the nearest entrance of the mansion. "Not going anywhere now."

The second time, I sent in a pretty servant girl to divert Natsu's attention away from me. I told her that she had to do whatever she needed to do to make sure he wouldn't notice me.

But I didn't even get one foot over the balcony edge before Natsu found me. The servant girl came rushing in after him, blushing madly and apologizing to me. Apparently Natsu didn't even bat an eye when she tried to flirt with him.

The third time I told him Happy was lost in the mansion (in actuality, I had caught Happy, gave him some fish and stored him in a room far away from mine). As Natsu searched for the "lost" Happy, I climbed out of my balcony and hit the ground running. A second later, I was tackled to the ground by a pink blur. Natsu had jumped out of the window, landing on me.

"Are you trying to kill me!?" I shrieked underneath him.

"Ah, there you are," he said. "Happy found his way back! I guess he wasn't really lost. Where are you going?"

The fourth time, I waited until Natsu started to nod off before quietly leaving the room and sprinting to a room on the floor above. A long time ago I had made a rope made of sheets, mostly because my father locked my balcony window and I wanted another way out. I quickly tied the "rope" to the bedpost, threw the rest out the window and started down. When I reached the end of the rope, I let go, falling the last few feet to the ground.

Unfortunately, I didn't land in a soft patch of grass.

I landed right into Natsu's waiting arms.

"What the –" I snapped. "How in the world did you, WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?"

He readjusted, slinging me over his shoulder. "Heartfilia wants you in bed early for tomorrow. Something about early meetings with several trading families. I got bored and stopped listening."

He began to whistle an upbeat tune, ignoring my protests.

And that's how I ended up slung over Natsu's shoulder.

"Let me down!" I ordered. "I am not a sack of potatoes!"

"Princess," he drawled, "I can't let you run away. Ezra would murder me if I let you escape."

"I am not a princess!" I gasped. Natsu's shoulder was digging into my stomach, making it slightly hard to breath.

"You're acting like one."

"No I'm not!" I retorted. I gave up hitting him. I couldn't help but notice that he had a muscular back…he was a strong guy. He carried up all the way up to my room without breaking a sweat.

"Watch where you place your dirty hands!" I finally said, trying to sound like a woman who had everything under control.

He shifted, opening my bedroom door and dumped my unceremoniously on my bed. I blew a piece of hair from my eyes, glaring at him. He stood at the base of my bed, staring at me, eyes almost glowing in the dark.

"What are you doing?"

"Isn't it obvious? I have to stay here and wait until you go to sleep! I'm tired of jumping out of windows after you."

"I can't go to sleep with you staring at me! That's just creepy!"

He grinned cheerfully. I could see some pointed teeth in his bright smile. Definitely creepy.

"Deal with it."

I wouldn't get that much sleep with Natsu looming over me, so I finally said, "Look, I promise that I won't try to escape again."

Natsu didn't move.

"I swear!"

He didn't even bat an eye.

"Get out! This is a girl's room!" I stood up and tried pushing him towards the door. "I can't sleep with you watching over me like that!"

He relented, slowly moving to the door. "Fine, but I'll know if you try to run away again."

"Yeah, yeah," I said. "Brag all you want. I'm going to escape this mansion permanently one day."

He paused at the door and turned to me to ask a question, but he waved it off, exiting the room.

"You could at least close the door," I muttered.

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**This was a fun chapter to work on, especially trying to define the relationship between Lucy and Natsu. Not really a whole ton of action, but it'll come...eventually. The chapter is way shorter than the first chapter, but I think that I like this length. Not as scary for me to edit...**

**And please, by all means, review! I love to read the reviews, long or short (I've practically memorized the ones from chapter one). You can leave me a dissertation or even just a plain old smiley face in the reviews and I'd be jumping off the walls.**

**Until next time, Miss Elixir**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello! Yes, I'm still alive and kicking, even though it's been a while since I last posted. Please forgive me, I was running around, trying to sneak in some travel time before classes officially started. And now that I'm back and settling down into a routine, I think I'll be able to write more. But to be completely honest, I have 8 hour labs, along with lectures and studying, so my schedule is still a little crazy. And you might be asking, "Whhaaatttt! 8 hour labs?! What are you, insane?"**

**Heck yes I am. **

**After I finished my lab, I turned to my lab partner and I said "I made a huge mistake" (Arrested Development fans anybody?). Ah, I kid. I'm actually enjoying the class, even though the hours are atrocious.**

**Alright, enough chit chat. I don't own Fairy Tail and it's characters (disclaimer). Enjoy the next chapter!**

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"It's so boring around here." Natsu loudly complained for the hundredth time that day. "I want to be back, battling Ezra or that stupid ice bucket."

He punched the air a few times, bouncing around, as if he was in the middle of a boxing match.

"Lucy," Happy interrupted. "Do you have some more fish? I'm getting a little hungry."

My eye twitched.

"Why are we always in the library? Can't we be outside?" Natsu sighed, flopping down in a chair next to mine, his imaginary battle over. We were currently in the mansion's library, one of the rare places where I could find peace. Well, one of the places where I used to find peace. Natsu clearly didn't want to be there and he voiced his opinion without a care. His voice echoed over the room, bouncing off the shelves of books that lined the walls.

"Fish?" Happy added hopefully.

I slammed the book shut and glared at the two of them. Happy dove behind the armchair while Natsu, unfazed by my glare, continue to slouch lower and lower in the chair.

"Look, this is my library. You hear me? MY library. It's the one place that I can relax in this stupid mansion, and both of your whining and complaining is ruining it! Besides, you were the one that didn't want me running away. I'm doing exactly what you want."

His face scrunched up, irritated that I called him out for his complaining. "At least life was more interesting when you trying to run away. Go back to your old tricks and try to leave so I can catch you again."

"Last time I tried that you nearly destroyed my balcony glass door." I had tried to lock him in my bedroom by blockading the door from the outside, with disastrous results. Now there's chunk of my door missing, covered up by a large sheet of paper, chunks of glass still lying on the floor.

He shrugged carelessly, a chunk of pink hair falling in front of his eyes. "It got in my way."

I set the book that I was reading down on the table before getting up and walking towards the door. I wasn't going to find any relaxation with Natsu complaining, so why stay in my treasured library?

"Where are we going now? Outside?"

"Fish?"

Happy flew over to me, flying in circles around my head. Happy was always so…happy. Sometimes it was just exhausting to be around him.

It has been about a week since Natsu and Happy become my bodyguards. It has also been a week since I last snuck out from the mansion. Coincidence?

Yeah, right.

My feet were itching to hit the cobble stone streets that lay in town. Levy must have been worried about me, since I last time we met, I promised her that I would lend her a few books from my library. We had promised to meet a coffee shop a few nights ago, but I haven't been able to escape Natsu's talons, so I had to miss it.

I met Levy at a party a couple months ago, hosted by some nobody in town. It was a fairly good party, with nice music and great food, but there was a lack of attractive guys around, so half way through the party, I found myself side-by-side a cute cornflower blue-haired pixie of a girl looking at some books in a bookshelf. I remember pointing to one of the books and praising the author, hoping to strike up a conversation with a fellow bibliophile. She laughed and pointed to the next book in line and said, "I would praise the host's tastes in literature, but this makes me think otherwise."

"Oh stars above," I moaned. "It's that terrible book that everyone loves. I just don't understand the allure of elementary diction and clichéd plotlines."

She shrugged. "It what people want! You always know the ending. The hero gets the girl, the bad guy dies, everything is rainbows and sparkles. Star's forbid you actually read a book that surprises the reader!"

"I know!" I grinned. "Where's the fun in that?"

She held out a book she was reading to me. "You should really should give this a read. Oh, I'm Levy McGarden by the way."

Smiling, I took the book. "Lucy! Nice to meet you!"

Next thing I knew, we became fast friends. We would meet a couple nights a week, to talk about the latest books and journals and to hit the town. She still doesn't know that I am _the_ Lucy Heartfilia and I would like to keep it that way. I told her a fictitious story about my past, but someone with her smarts probably already figured out that I wasn't the daughter of an old traveling merchant.

"Natsu," I begged once more, stopping so that I could face him. "Let me go to town."

I leaned forward, showing a bit more cleavage than I should have, to add on to my begging. So what, I was prepared to do anything to get out of here, even if that meant making puppy dog eyes to the most annoying bodyguard in existence.

Natsu crossed his arm and stuck his tongue out at me. "Nope. Ezra told me to keep you here to make Heartfilia happy."

I straightened and pointed to myself. "But I'm your boss, not Ezra. And I'm ordering you to let me go!"

I bit my lip before adding, "Just for tonight. I won't ask again."

He looked at me before wincing. "You obviously don't know Ezra. You follow her orders, unless you want to die a long and painful death."

"Come on, she'll never know."

"No."

"I won't tell!"

"Doesn't matter. No."

I pouted, crossing my arms. "Natsu, I want to leave. I don't care about Ezra's orders."

"Then I'll stop you again." He grinned. "You're scary when you're mad, but you've got nothing on Ezra when she's in a bad mood."

I glared at Natsu so hard that I think I felt lasers shooting out of my eyes. I stamped my high-heeled foot into the carpet.

"You have no idea how scary I can get!"

I breathed heavily, staring Natsu down.

"Fine, fine," he said, eyes narrowing and a mocking smile lighting on his lips. "Say 'please, oh Great Natsu' and I _might_ let you go."

"I-I-I," I stuttered. I would never say that, let alone to Natsu. It would just inflate his overlarge ego.

"Please, oh Great Natsu," Natsu said in a high, falsetto voice. "Please let me go to town. I'm so terribly bored here! One day I'm going to leave this castle foreverrrr!"

"Shut up!" I finally managed to say, turning away from his terrible impression of me. I quickly walked to my room, hoping to leave Natsu behind in my dust. However, considering that I was tottering around in heels, he was easily able to keep up with me, laughing the entire time at my expense. When my hand landed on the doorknob to my room, Natsu finally stopped laughing and spoke up.

"You better let me go in first. You know, gotta do my body guard thing."

"No," I flatly refused. "No one is going to be in my room. I'm a grown woman and I can take care of myself!"

I wrenched open the door and marched in. A hand shot out of nowhere and grabbed my free wrist. Yanking me away from the door, my arm was twisted awkwardly behind my back. I gasped in pain, trying to struggle away from my attacker. Lifting a heeled foot, I smashed it on the guy's foot, causing him to grunt and curse under his breath. But I stopped fighting the instant I felt a cool, sharp object press lightly against the skin of my neck. It wasn't enough to draw blood, but the threat was clearly there. I froze, trying to get an image of my attacker and plan out my next move. If Natsu could distract the guy…wait a second, where was my stupid bodyguard anyways? He's the one that should be protecting me!

Natsu strolled in, hands behind his head, the image of nonchalance.

"Natsu!" I squeaked, my voice cracking. He looked at me, his expression bored, but clearly saying, "I told you so."

"You're doing a terrible job as a bodyguard," a voice said behind my ear. Even though my blood was pumping quickly through my veins, I tried to keep my head on my shoulders. I recognized that voice. Where have I heard it before? If Natsu could just distract him long enough, I could elbow my captor in the ribs, run to the cabinet and pull out my keys and call on my Spirits. But would I be able to run fast enough to avoid the guy's knife?

"Not my fault," Natsu said, cracking his knuckles. "She was the one that insisted she entered in first."

I scoffed, half listening to Natsu, half figuring out where I heard that voice before and how to safely escape. Did he think this was a game or something?

"Natsu," Ezra stepped out from the shadows my room, red hair whipping around her in anger. "Master gave you explicit instructions to protect Miss Heartfilia –"

"Lucy," I squeaked. I immediately shut up as she turned her glare on me. Maybe Natsu was right about Ezra.

"Instructions" she continued, "that you haven't been following."

Natsu cowered ever so slightly. "But I knew it was you and Ice bucket –"

"Hothead idiot" the voice breathed behind me.

"Want a fight?" Natsu said back to the voice.

Then it hit me; it was Gray! The voice belonged to that guy that was in the carriage with Natsu and Ezra that night a week ago!

"We are on a mission!" she hissed. "We don't have time to play kid games."

"Will someone tell me what's going on?" I whispered, eyeing Gray's hand, still holding some sort of knife to my throat. It looked more like a shard of ice, but I couldn't really tell. Should I risk elbowing him in the ribs?

Ezra continued to berate Natsu, Gray jumping in once and a while, yelling in my ear.

"HELLO!" I raised my voice over the din of the arguments, sick of all the noise. "GIRL WITH KNIFE TO HER THROAT HERE."

"Oh," Gray released my arm and took a step back, withdrawing his ice knife away from my neck. "Sorry bout that. Just making sure Natsu was doing his job, which he isn't."

"I'm doing my job! And it's plenty boring."

I backed away from Gray, running into my desk. I pulled open one of the drawers, managing to open the false bottom, and pulling out my keys, the weight of the metal reassuring in my grip. I turned around and saw that Natsu was arguing with Ezra, while simultaneously wrestling with Gray on the ground, knocking over tables and lamps that I had arranged around my room. Somehow, Gray's shirt was also on the ground. Happy was flying in circles above us, encouraging Natsu to win the fight, dive-bombing into the fray once and a while to help him.

This was ridiculous.

"I summon thee!" I said, wielding one of the keys in the air. "Taurus!"

A large minotaur with black and white splotched skin popped into existence, wielding a two-bladed ax.

"Moooo, Lucy," Taurus said, "you look especially good today!"

"Taurus!" I ignored his comment. "GET THEM OUT OF HERE!"

"Bull?" Natsu and Gray yelled, freezing in the middle of their fight. I think Natsu yelled out the word "food," but I couldn't hear clearly. Suddenly, Natsu wasn't punching Gray, but punching Taurus, forcing him to edge back towards my balcony door.

Oh no. Not the door again.

"Natsu! Stop!" I yelled.

Taurus swung his axe, lodging the huge weapon into the middle of my bed.

There goes my bed.

Ezra, swinging her sword, ran towards Taurus, only to collide with Natsu, who was trying to punch Taurus.

"Don't get in my way!" he yelled.

"You're in my way!" she yelled back.

Taurus recovered, charging at both of them, mooing about me and my curves or something like that.

"Ice-make: Hammer!" Gray yelled, swinging a gigantic ice hammer at Taurus. He smashed through the balcony window, flipping over the edge and then crashing to the ground below. Gray flew through the broken door, jumped over the rail and slammed into Taurus. I heard Taurus whimper, so I rolled me eyes, feeling Taurus leave for the Spirit World, and sighed. Now my room was in shambles, the door was completely shattered, along with half of the wall, and I realized how weak I am in "battle".

Natsu ran out to the balcony, one sandal clad foot on the stone balcony rail. "You stole my fight!"

Gray scoffed and loudly said, "You clearly were struggling."

Natsu jumped off the edge of the balcony and landed on Gray, punching him. Ezra ran out to the balcony, yelling at both of them. Deciding that they weren't listening to her, she jumped off the balcony as well, jumping into the fray, swinging her sword. Happy, still enjoying the action, flew outside to see the end of the fight.

I was about to yell at them to all shut it, but then an idea sparked in my head. This was the perfect distraction! Natsu was clearly busy and wouldn't miss my presence.

"Natsu," I said quietly. "I think I'm going to get some fresh air. Any problems with that?"

No answer. I smiled, and quietly snuck out the door, and walking to the entrance on the other side of the mansion. I exited, and running from the mansion, I clipped my keys around my waist, listening to see if Natsu was following me. But I guess Gray and Ezra were distraction enough because by the time I passed through the fence, I could barely hear the fight.

Freedom!

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**She's out! But be careful what you wish for, Lucy. It might not always end the way you want it to (ohhh what's going to happen next?!).**

**This chapter isn't that long as well...but if I don't break it up into smaller chapters, they just get huge. And scary to read. Too much text is a little alarming in my mind.**

**Thanks to all those who reviewed! I'm not going to go on about it like last time, but I do love reviews. It's more interactive, don't cha think?**

**-Miss Elixir**


	4. Chapter 4

**Whelp. It's been, what, a half year since I last updated? I'm so sorry everyone. The move back to the States was a little harder than I predicted...**

**But I'm back, and I'm hopefully going to start updating again. Thank you for your patience!**

* * *

I skipped happily into town, relishing in the noise and chatter of people going about their everyday lives. It was different than living inside the mansion. It was so quiet there. People would silently do their jobs, moving listlessly from room to room, trying to stay out of my father's way and avoiding me, because I was a ball of trouble according to my father.

But the town! It was filled with life! People ran from shop to shop, gossiping about the latest magazines, their hands filled with bags of newly purchased items. Kids laughter as they played games in the streets, their mothers watching carefully from open windows. Old men played chess by the river, talking about the old days and complaining about the younger generation and their racket. Boats slowly passed them, the fishermen on the boat bringing in their catch from the sea, while other boats drifted peacefully in the water, tied down to the side of the river walls, waiting for their owners to return to begin another adventure out at sea. Walking carefully by the river's edge, I caught a scent of baking bread with a hint of cinnamon. Following my nose, I found myself staring greedily at the bakery window, filled to the brim with cute cakes, breads and pastries. I had a few jewels on me, and I knew that I wouldn't be able to leave without a small treat, so I ducked into the shop. I chatted with the young lady behind the counter before buying a small roll, and headed out towards the direction of Bookland, the shop where Levy "worked" at. I would use the term loosely; last time I went there, I found here reading the books instead of selling them to the customers. I guess her boss gave her a lot of trouble for reading during her shifts, but no one knows books like Levy, so he doesn't fire her.

I nibbled on my bread, wandering through the town, trying to remember how to get there. A couple of blocks later (and a few lost u-turns), I found the shop tucked away in the corner of an open-air square. I opened the door and the bell tinkled, announcing my arrival and I looked around, a shelf of newly released books catching my eye. Levy's blue hair flipped as she took a quick glance at the door from the counter she was sitting behind.

"Lucy!" she gasped. "Where in the world have you been? You didn't come to our coffee date a couple days ago and I was sat in that shop till it closed! Why didn't you tell me that you were coming today? I've been so worried!"

She ran around the counter, dropping the book on the counter surface and threw her arms around me.

I laughed. "Sorry I had to miss our coffee date. I've got this new babysitter, I mean job. I've got this new job and my boss doesn't like it when I leave."

"It's the middle of the day," Levy exclaimed, going back around the counter. "You usually come into town at night. Did you get off early or something?"

"You can say that," I replied mysteriously. I didn't really want her to figure out that I had a new bodyguard. It would just make her suspicious. After all, the Lucy she knows is a small merchant's daughter, one that wouldn't be able to afford a bodyguard.

"I got to make up for flaking on our last get-together. Let's go get a cup of coffee on your next break, I'll pay." I always offered to pay, considering that money wasn't really a problem for me, but Levy always declined my offer.

She shook her head.

"Why do you always offer to pay? Goodness, I've got myself a paying job; I can pay for food and coffee. But if you want, wait for an hour and I'll be done with my shift. We can go grab dinner or something. Go check the section over there, it's our new books!" Levy pointed to a wall of books that had caught my eye earlier before turning back to a few customers that come up to ask her a question.

That evening we settled down for dinner in a diner, ordering some food and drinks. We took forever to decide on a place to go to, so in the end, we blindly walked through town until we hit a little hole in the wall restaurant that had a decent looking menu and a clean eating area.

"So tell me," I asked, after an elderly waiter placed our food on the table. "What's been going on in town recently?"

"The whole town is up in arms about the World Expo coming up," Levy said, chewing and swallowing her food. "Merchants are trying to get the best spot in the fair, so competition has been raised. It's a ton of drama."

"The World Expo," I mumbled, drifting into thought. The World Expo was one of the single most important events for merchants and artisans. It was a gathering point where, for an entire month, people sell their goods, show the public the new products to be made, and to celebrate the upcoming years. As a trader, you could get a ton of new investors, suppliers, and trade partners. As an artisan, you could show off your talent, sell your work at a high price, and potentially be hired for several more projects. And to top it off, the World Expo was the Holy Grail for inventors. Some people said the Expo was the one time where you could see a glimpse of the future. And since the World Expo only happens once every five years, the town hosting it becomes the center of attraction. It takes years for the town to prepare for the huge crowds, but the troubles and ordeals melt away when these crowds come and start spending money. This time, Magnolia has the honor of hosting the World Expo, with my father leading most of the preparations, since he was considered one of the top trade merchants here.

Basically, it's a big, big deal.

"Yeah," Levy pointed her fork at me. "Even my boss has been vying with Academibooks for a spot. He's trying to get me to date the owner's son to get some info out of him. Except, well, the son is way too young for my taste."

I laughed, taking a sip of my drink. "What's your ideal man then Lev? Old and wrinkled?"

"Ew no!" She scrunched her nose in horror. "I want my man to be like…like the guys in the books I read! Handsome, tall, chivalrous, kind, perfect in every way."

"Impossible. Those are fictions, characters in books."

"You're a downer. A girl can dream, can't she? Speaking of books, I wanted to ask you if you found that one book." Levy looked down hesitantly.

"Oh, the one by Kemu Zeleon? Yeah, I found it." I said. "But I remember seeing it in your store, so I know you've already read it."

"No, the um, one about dragonslayers. We talked about it last time we met. You said that you saw an old one in your father's bookshelf," her voice trailed off.

"Dragonslayers?" I snorted, a very unladylike thing to do. "Why do you even want to read about dragonslayers? You'd be better off reading about flying pigs or some sort of nonsense like that. Dragonslayers are myths."

Levy spun her straw around in her drink, biting her lip. "I know, but…there's something in me that believes they're still out there, alive."

I looked at her in shock. "Dragonslayers haven't been around for…a long time Lev. No one has seen or recorded about a dragonslayer since the slaughter of X577. The crazy king had all the dragonslayers executed because of their immense power. He almost had all mages killed along with them!"

I wasn't joking when I said that the king was crazy. The slaughter of X577 was the goriest that Fiore has seen, which is a big statement considering that Fiore has been in some ugly wars in the past. The king, once a proud leader that was renowned for his vision for the kingdom, grew old and senile. He grew suspicious of the world around him and soon began ordering colossal massacres, believing that everyone was out to kill him for the crown. He first ordered the deaths of his strongest mages in his security detail, then the weaker mages that ran protection in the streets. After condemning the mages to death, the king turned to the dragonslayers, many of which were scattered over the globe. Since dragons, the kings of the sky and sea, trained them, dragonslayers had powers greater than any mage. Rumor was that dragonslayers could gain energy and attack enemies from eating the elements of the universe. Hearing these rumors, people began to amass together, under the dragonslayers' name, trying to overthrow the crazy King's regime.

But a mob of people couldn't stop the old King, for he was an impressive mage himself, and with the obedience of the King's faithful army, he tracked down the dragonslayers. One by one, he defeated the dragonslayers with sheer numbers and power, efficiently killing the icons that brought hope to the villagers. After he brought back their heads, displaying them like trophies on the castle walls in the capital, his army went out into the streets to stop the riots. Permanently.

By the end of X577, no dragonslayers were alive, the dragons had fled and the streets ran with blood, the screams of the dying, and the tears of those mourning the dead.

"You can't always believe in your history textbooks," Levy argued. "The authors who wrote them are biased."

"They're historians. They use facts and documents to back up their books," I gently told Levy. She was my friend and I didn't want to hurt her feelings by pointing out that believing in myths like dragonslayers should be left to little children, not adults like us.

"They weren't there!" Levy insisted. "Besides, you can't just kill off an entire group of people! And the dragons are still out there, we just don't know where they are. They could have trained more slayers since then."

"They're dead Levy."

I couldn't believe that she really thought they still existed. "I was joking when I said that I saw a book about them. No one has written about dragonslayers in ages. It's bad luck."

She looked crestfallen. "Lucy, they're out there."

An awkward silence fell as we both stared at our food.

"Did you hear about Issac and that gal from that fancy dress shop?" I asked, trying to change the subject so that Levy didn't mope in her embarrassment.

Levy bit her lip, taking a moment before reluctantly taking my bait. "Didn't they run off with each other a couple nights ago?"

We didn't speak about dragonslayers or crazy kings for the rest of the night, but it was painfully obvious that both of us were thinking about the topic. We finished dinner and had a cup of coffee before heading out to a bar. After spending the evening hanging with Levy, dancing with some guys and drinking with a few new friends, I decided it was time to go back to the mansion. It was late when I left, but I promised Levy that I would be safe. I had my keys after all.

"Stop worrying about me!" I told her. She looked at my doubtfully.

"The streets are dangerous at night, Lucy. I better go with you. Buddy system, right?" Levy bit her lip, worry marked all over her face. "Rumor has it that slavers – "

"You listen to gossip too much Lev," I said confidently. I couldn't have her coming with me back home, because she'll see the Heartfilia mansion and then she'll realize that I'm not exactly the person that I say I am. "I can make it home safely. Besides, if you come with me, you'll have to walk home by yourself and that defeats the purpose right?"

Her face flushed, but in true Levy fashion, she refused to back down. Although small and petite, Levy was incredibly stubborn and incredibly selfless, and I looked up to that.

"What if we walk to the city center together and then part ways? It's about the halfway point for both of us."

I sighed, shaking my head a little before grinning at her. "Sounds like a plan."

We walked together through the darkened cobblestone streets, chatting about our night, and how we were excited for the upcoming World Expo. We were almost to the town center when we heard quiet sobbing. A small girl, with long brown hair was lying on the ground, her dress torn. Wondering if she was okay, I jogged over, Levy hot on my heels.

"Are you okay?" I said, crouching down and offering a hand in the girl. She looked up, her big green eyes full of tears.

"I'm lost," she wailed.

"Oh my goodness," Levy said, her own eyes misting up. Leave it to Levy to be a sympathetic crier.

"Where do you live?" I said. The girl, starting to calm down, lightly gripped my hand as she stood up.

"I live near Smither's street, next to the graveyards." She hiccupped, tears still rolling down her cheeks.

"We can take you there!" Levy blurted out, hugging the girl. "I know a shortcut through a few alleys and we can get you there in a heartbeat. What happened to your dress?"

They turned and began walking down an alley. The girl started explaining how she was a foreigner here, and how a scary man pushed her down and took her purse.

I followed behind the two of them, listening to her tale. There was something off about this girl, but I couldn't really put my finger on it. But I shrugged it off. Darkness tends to put paranoid thoughts into anyone's brain, right?

I walked down the darkened cobblestone streets, letting my thoughts wander to Natsu. I wondered if he figured out that I left. He was probably fuming in anger right now, waiting for me to get back to the mansion. I giggled to myself, imagining his face, scrunched up in anger, as I rub it in his face that I escaped him. Levy turned around and glared at me, apparently angered that I would giggle at such a time as this. We turned another corner and suddenly, chaos erupted.

The girl, tears now gone, had a knife pressed against Levy's throat, pinning her against the dank wall. Realizing that this girl wasn't a damsel in distress, and was threatening my friend, I reached for my keys, only to be grabbed from behind. Strong arms roughly shoved a cloth in my face and I inhaled a sickly sweet scent. I frantically looked to Levy, who was slumped on the ground, the girl crouching over her with a small cloth.

"Levy," I mumbled. Hands roughly ripped my keys from my grip.

"No. Those…those are mine." I said weakly, my world phasing in and out of blackness.

Then…nothing.

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**Well, I hope you liked the chapter. Mostly it's filler, with background some background info, so not too exciting.**

**As always, thank you for reading!**

**-Miss Elixir**


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